Remember that your thesis statement can change as you continue to develop your ideas – using an outline can help you keep checking on the connection between your body paragraphs and your thesis statement.

Sometimes, thinking of a question can help you focus your ideas and make connections.

In this video^[1], you can see how a question can be used to structure and develop a thesis statement (Note, video has no narration; a transcript of the text used on screen is available below):

The three steps outlined in the video:

• Creating a question about your topic
• Finding reasons, and
• Putting it all together

are a good place to start if you are a beginner academic writer.

Another strategy to developing a thesis statement is to use the template suggested in this KPU Learning Aid on “Thesis Statement Design:”

Using the KPU Learning Aid, we can return to our example:

Here is the suggested template:

By beginning to to organize my ideas about effective transit and KPU students, I can say:

Right now, my thesis is two sentences:

My thesis may change as I continue to write and revise my essay. In the next chapter, we’ll look at more questions suggestions you can use to further refine your thesis statement.

Transcript for Text from “How to Write a Thesis for Beginners”

Image Description:

Figure 1 image description: A graphic that shows the elements of a thesis statement. The graphic is colour coded making it easier to understand. The graphic uses blue to indicate where the student will add text, and orange to show the correct punctuation and conjunction. It is a visual template.

Figure 2 image description: The same graphic as Figure 1, but with added text. The text added is to show an example of what a student would write. It is a step-by-step guide on the elements of a thesis statement, and it answers the proposed question “Are transit services effective for Kwantlen University students?”. The texts say: “While U-Pass saves students money [couter-argument], transit for KPU students is rarely on time [main point 1] can limit course options [main point 2] and reflects a larger lack of transit options in Surrey [main point 3] This means that public transit, in particular the public bus system, is not effective for KPU students.”